We are so used to currency being only useful in certain countries that we get hung up on the which particular country issued it. But .... once upon a time, the

We are so used to currency being only useful in certain countries that we get hung up on the which particular country issued it. But .... once upon a time, the issuing country was the least important thing about money. The most important thing was WHAT the money was made of: gold or silver. And HOW MUCH of it there was. Most denominations of money that we are familiar with today concern the WEIGHT of that coinage (as in the British Pound Sterling was originally a pound weight of sterling silver, the old French Livres (pound) and Italian Lira (again pound) are similar amounts of money. You notice that I'm not mentioning paper, that's because paper currency is not actual money but simply a promise of money just like an IOU or a cheque. And like an IOU or a cheque, the paper currency is only as good as the promise of the person who is saying it.